Have a plan for how to talk to customers about cost increases.

As the industrial world moved further and further away from the most dramatic after-effects of the COVID pandemic, the pricing dynamic between distributors and end-users shifted: manufacturers who were happy to find a reliable supply of...

This article was originally published on February 20, 2025 as a DSG guest post.

Tariffs are in the news and distributors are bracing for cost increases to ripple through the supply chain. While this is a complex and evolving issue, distributors can take proactive steps now to protect their profi...

Who shouldn’t lead pricing in a distribution business?

Many distributors include this responsibility in the role of a busy executive or consider it a back-office administrative position. 

As a result, sales reps spend too much time trying to manage the process, do their best with what they have and ar...

Distributors need to stop managing pricing with spreadsheets.

It’s impossible to manage all that data and the number of cost changes, as well as measure results in Excel.

Even if you have an elaborate custom Excel spreadsheet, you risk losing that when the analyst who built it goes on vacation or leav...

How to Overcome Resistance to Your Pricing Strategy
 
Most distributors give their teams a lot of autonomy for discounting and overrides. If you take away that flexibility, they will probably resist.

That’s why you must have a change management plan with any new pricing strategy.

You can’t just implemen...

Don’t use technology as the Easy Button for pricing challenges. While technology may be part of the solution, that shouldn’t be your starting point.
 
If you try to patch pricing problems with software before you truly understand the current state of your pricing and the opportunities in front of you,...

Many distributors include responsibility for pricing in the role of a busy executive or make it a back-office administrative position.  

As a result, sales reps spend too much time trying to manage the process, do their best with what they have and are less productive.  

That adds to these comm...

In the latest episode of the Driven by DCKAP podcast, Karthik speaks with Scott Sinning, the Founder and CEO of Pricing for Distributors. Scott was formerly the VP of Pricing Strategy at Graybar Electric, has over 30 years of experience working in wholesale distribution, and he is a frequent speaker...

Pricing is a powerful lever. We spoke with two pricing experts to shed some light on the best approaches to pricing for profit maximization:

• Scott Sinning, Founder, Pricing for Distributors, and former Vice President of Pricing Strategy, Graybar
• Brian Hopkins, Chief Customer Officer, Distributio
...

This headline may be a question at the top of your mind as you think about how to improve your business performance. You’re leading a growth-oriented distributor and want profitable growth in any economic environment but are challenged by tightening margins and evolving customer expectations.

You w...

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Implementing a new pricing strategy takes work. That’s probably why many distributors avoid the project altogether. Worse, executives might invest big money in a pricing tool only to cut back on (or omit completely) supportive change management initiatives that ensure organization...